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Most six-year-old children may think of Christmas as a time to receive gifts, but for one Hazard resident, this year’s holiday was a time to give to others.

Carley Watts, a student at Wabaco Christian Academy in Hazard, came to her mother, Jessica, a few weeks ago with an idea to help other children in the city who may not be as fortunate as her. She wanted to sell newspapers and use the profits to purchase toys, donating those items to the Hazard Police Department’s holiday toy drive.

It was an idea that Jessica said she initially thought might not come to fruition.

“She said she wanted to use the money for gifts for kids whose families were struggling at Christmas,” Jessica said. “I didn’t mention to anybody because I thought once she got the money she might change her mind.”

But Carley’s mind was already made up. For two weeks she worked to sell editions of The Hazard Herald, making a little more than $40. All of it was used to benefit other children, and Jessica noted it was all Carley’s idea from the start. And Carley also made sure the money raised was used to purchase gifts for boys, girls, and babies.

“It was her idea, we didn’t come up with it at all,” Jessica explained.

Helping others hasn’t been a foreign concept to Carley. Earlier this year she wanted to cut her hair, and had the idea to donate 10 inches to the Locks of Love organization, which uses donated hair to make wigs for financially disadvantaged children who also suffer from long term medical issues.